Thanks for that, the first review!
I envisaged the narrator as living downstream from the dam, and the section of the river where they live being greatly reduced in it's outflow.
I'm not against dams per se, just the huge megadams which muck up the environment so badly. And those seem to be the ones that are getting built these days. The fish stocks, the farming, everything that depends on the river, tend to disappear or become greatly reduced. It's appalling.
Alison
This hit home to me, as I've panned for gold in river streams, and I live in an area of the US where dams are plentiful. The loss of the Celilo Falls and its fishing areas is still mourned. The fish ladders have kept the salmon from being extinct, but the plenitude is gone. Wouldn't she also have to move to another, more crowded area? Many dams here in Oregon required the relocation of one or more towns. Tourism is what keeps the "new" towns going, but it is a low-paying service industry, and lacks the dignity and self-reliance of former industries.